Auras like Open Books
by darkmickyangel
Summary: Rin's new to this whole not-human not-demon thing. Somethings are definitely hard to get used to, but he's slowly learning things one step at a time.


**Auras like Open Books.**

Rin hefted the gate he'd broken up with ease, hyper aware of the cute blonde girl's exclamation of his strength.

 _Is it really that heavy?_ Rin wondered, the metal feeling like paper in his hands as he leaned it against the fence. He'd always been strong, but never had thought much of it. Had he always had this demonic strength? He didn't feel any stronger. Hell, he could have done that even before growing a tail.

He crouched to the ground, apologizing half-heartedly for breaking the gate. _It was warded- and it just shocked me like a pinch. Is that normal?_

Rin was too caught up in that thought, he was a little shocked when the girl stuck out her hand.

"Shall we make up?" Her smile was like the spring sun, it was so bright and innocent. She was really pretty, in a traditional kind of way. Really bright to, nothing like Yukio and his broodiness.

Ever since drawing the sword he'd been getting impressions of people. He thought they might be something like auras, like one of Yukio's supernatural manga had talked about. Shapes or images people gave off. Rin couldn't really feel them when there were a bunch around- or unless he focused on one person specifically. Like spices, each one of them different. One individual component, the flavor of one person. Though they didn't _taste_ \- that would be kind of disturbing if it did. It was feelings, impressions, sometimes images… it was different for each person. Yukio was kind of gloomy and down, and he'd wind up like a clock spring when he worried about something.

This girl was completely different.

"I didn't know you were such a nice guy."

Rin couldn't help but blush, "Nice? Me?" he muttered. Lord he must look so stupid.

"I'm Shiemi Moriyama!" This girl was so bright and _fragile,_ like a tea cup you never use, one you kept on the shelf in fear of it getting cracked,but brimming with bright light, a golden tea that caught the sun's rays and could blind people.

"What's your name?"

"Rin Okumaru," Rin said, and shook her hand before recalling what the girl had just been handling.

He'd been too caught up in her brightness- being stuck with Yukio for a whole week had been like shutting himself in. Being in this girl's presence was like stepping outside into the sun and basking in it. He hadn't realized until now, maybe what he was feeling kind of affected him somehow? Like if he stayed around negative people he too would become more negative. Interesting.

He listened to Shiemi's story about her mother's garden and the garden of something that reminded him about his father's stories of the Garden of Eden. Something about the tone wasn't right though, it was like something was crawling up the side of the tea cups she told it- like a dark-thick vine _thing_ growing up and into the cup of light. Draining the liquid.

Rin hadn't noticed it at first but the more he spent in the girl's presence the more he couldn't help but see that it was there. Was that natural? Did everyone's soul do that?

Then Yukio and her mom showed up and things got too muddled for him to read.

"It's temptaint. A demon did this."

Yeesh Yukio needed to work on his bedside manner, it looked like Shiemi and her mom had just both been hit by bricks. Rin watched, not having a chance to jump in as Yukio did his thing and- then the argument between the family and- _Its sucking her up._

Rin watched the girl collapse in horror, realizing to late what those were- the demon leaching away at her soul.

Shiemi's bright aura was nearly gone. He'd lost track of the auras in Yukio and the mother's presence. He'd looked away for what, a minute? Now the vines were clogging up the tea cup entrance- sucking up the liquid light. Yukio picked her up and carried her back to her room.

Rin stayed behind in the garden, kicking himself mentally.

 _Yukio said it was a demon, I should have realized what the thing was. It was eating her_ _ **soul**_ _and I just let it happen._ Rin kicked a wooden barrel filled with water in anger and turned around. He was going to find this demon and kill it.

Yukio helped him, and they settled the issue.

The next day Shiemi joined them in class, which was a surprise. But she was back to being normal, bright and strong without any vines wrapped around the tea cup. Rin couldn't help but feel accomplished as he sat next to her in class. He'd helped her, and he'd help more. He wasn't a demon like the others. He was going to help people… now only if he could get his head around these classes. Rin had never been great at school- and ever since his change it was harder to just concentrate with a sixth sense giving him impressions of all the people around him, or sometimes places, or things.

Yukio was angry at him for not doing his work. Which made Rin mad-

And so did this snot nosed **punk**.

Who did he think he was? Looking and acting like a delinquent when he had the brains of a nerd?! God it pissed him off to no end. Even Yukio took this guy's side. Shiemi probably did too. Why weren't they angry?

Rin seethed, couldn't they feel the guy's hostility? Looming over them like some kind of mountain statue- he thought he was better than them- it pissed him off to no end. Then the guy went and said he was _flirting_ with Shiemi. The jerk was pulling Shiemi into this now, bringing her down and Rin couldn't stand for that.

Rin was kind of glad when the teacher paired them up for racing. Outpacing him easily wasn't beating his head into the floor- but it showed him that he wasn't going to take this lying down either. He'd show him- learning all this exorcism stuff wasn't all books and knowing shit. You had to be strong.

Well- faster in this case, but all the same.

"All that matters is who wins!" The kick hit him right in the tail. Which _hurt_ more than Rin thought it would, he stumbled and fell, and then the teacher was yelling at both of them for competing.

Rin tried to resist the urge to growl at the guy- which was unsettling to think about. Growling really? That couldn't be a good sign, he tried to calm down but he was just so angry- like a howling wind.

"Cut him some slack,"

It felt as if Bon's presence was forcefully shoved out of his field of people-sensing or whatever the second the pink-haired henchmen stepped in front of him.

 _Holly shit is this guy a wall or something?_

"Bon's to serious sometimes, he just won't budge." Rin blinked as his mental world went for a spin. This guys was almost _forcibly_ putting his aura in front of Rin- and it was hard to get any sort of grasp on him.

Which effectively cut him off from focusing on Bon because he was _completely_ cutting him off.

It felt like he was shoving his presence down his throat which- Rin didn't know what to make of.

Because all he got back was nothing- just _**me**_ _, I'm here and no one else. But there are two of me? It's a reflection? What the hell is this guy a_ _ **mirror**_ _?_

"Bon wants to be an exorcist so he can defeat Satan."

Those words got his attention. It was like he was being slapped around, first from Bon then back into reality… Shima's laugh grounded him in a very unsettling way.

 _You shouldn't be laughing at such a thing... This is your friend's dream- aren't you supposed to support him. Mephisto laughed to… are people both looking down so much on us?_

Rin tried to look over at Bon, but Shima blocked his view least Konekomaru agreed with him. Then told him about their temple which- that was horrible!

All the people in one temple being killed by Satan… _Who's my birth father. I'm related to the murder of their entire temple._

That really took his mood down, and his anger dissipated.

Rin looked over at Bon as the teacher talked on his phone, not knowing what to say. _Sorry but my not-father killed your temple and anyway_ _ **I'm**_ _going to kick his ass_ _ **not**_ _you so piss off?_

Rin grimaced, that wouldn't resolve anything, and the old man had always said he needed to focus on resolving fights, not finishing them. Rin thought this over, not really paying attention to what was going on. Apparently the teacher had to leave and they were to stay put, he was cool with that.

"And the Students To!" Bon was yelling at him and his aura or whatever hit him like a full on train wreck. A belly flop onto cement. Like that time Rin had been hit by a thrown rock and it had hit his head.

A balance-breaking gust of wind that gave Rin the sudden urge to **punch** the guy- but… it wasn't because of what he was saying it was just- just- _whoa his aura's pulling me in._

Just like how Shiemi's aura made him feel happier. All the anger Rin was feeling wasn't his own. It was Bon's. Rin took a mental step back. It was like a tsunami, high, strong winds all circling around the looming statue. Pulling at him, enticing him to fight.

"How would you know how serious I am?" Rin asked back a little heated, and realized the anger was getting to him. _You have no idea what I'm going through- school work and now this shit. You're making me angry- stop trying to start a fight. I don't want to fight!_

His actions weren't his own, Rin tried to communicate this to someone else, but no one was getting between them? Where was that mirror guy? Rin made eye contact with the chicken-haired kid, trying to convey his growing panic to him- maybe he'd stop?

 **He probably gets special treatment because he's some rich kid.**

The words sounded like they were coming from Bon- but he wasn't saying them.

Rin stiffened from foot to tail tip, and zoned out of reality as the sixth sense took over. Seeing Bon's aura fully manifesting itself. A giant looming statue that was _Bon._ A mountain Buddha, with a storm circling around it, influencing those who followed him. Being their leader. Only the statue wasn't whole. Bon's aura was spotted with black and rotten areas. Troubled spots, like he had ignored a small soar and it had festered.

Rin made a small noise in the back of his throat when Bon broke eye contact, but Rin had to mentally brace himself from the oncoming assault as he became the man's focus again- keep Bon somehow at a distance this time. It was like standing in strong winds, threatening to pull him off the ground. Rin fought hopelessly to stay anchored.

"If you're so serious then prove it to me!" Bon said, then pointed down to the Reapers.

Rin recalled that the things only attacked if someone wasn't doubting themselves, and Bon said that if Rin could touch it without it attacking than they would know he would be serious.

"And I'll do the same, of course. And I'll win." Bon pointed to himself.

 _If he goes down there he's going to get_ _ **killed**_ _._ Rin looked from the teen to the giant frog demons. The demon that had latched onto Shiemi had only grown out of depression- Bon wasn't possessed, he had- _what had dad called them? Cracks in his heart?_ God knows what would happen if Bon came in contact with one of those demons.

"Interesting, but no thanks," Rin steeled himself against the absolute maelstrom that was Bon's anger, and other dark emotions, all trying to drag him in- react in anger, rise up to the challenge. Rin, prepared a little more this time did a little better fending it off.

"What if one of us fails and dies? Are you stupid? I've got the same ambition that you do… so I can't die over something ridiculous like this." He meant to calm the guy down, remind him that he wasn't here to fight Rin- it didn't work.

Bon looked furious, and murderous at his friends before turning back to Rin, who met his eyes.

"You're just scared!" It was like being sucked into some kind of game portal- or down a drain.

 _Faceless whispers behind his back about being cursed- that they would too if they got close to him. Seeing the door of someone's house being slammed in front of an old man –_ Bon's father _– his father giving up on the temple- he was such a coward! How could he expect him to give up on the temple when it was all the family had left?! Shima –_ accompanied behind him were faces Rin didn't know but knew they were the pink head's brothers – _and Konekomaru –_ his family had died during the blue night, there were graves and the little guy was crying – _they were depending- waiting for the temple to come back! How did he expect Bon to turn his back on them!? He was just so angry. Angry at the flames which had cursed them- he'd kick Satan's ass and make him pay._ _ **I'm going to defeat Satan!**_

Rin took a sharp breath and took a step back as one of the girl's laughter rung out in the cement room. Bon was in the pit- when the hell had that happened?! Bon was in front of the frog thing! Rin moved before he knew what he was doing, kicking off the side of the cement hill and taking the hit. Teeth dug into his skin and he was covered in the thing's spit- this shirt would be ruined.

It felt mentally like he'd stepped in between some kind of wet-frog-tongue that had been trying to snap bon up like a treat. Most of it had hit him, but some of it had latched onto Bon- the clouds had receded and- _shit the statue's actually cracking._

Rin panicked, feeling all of the other's hate and guilt and grief, _everything_ being brought to the fore front of the boy's mind- and Bon- Bon didn't look so good physically. Rin felt his anger bubble up. He'd let it happen again. He'd gotten caught in whatever that thing had been- mindreading or something? Whatever, Bon was getting hurt because of him just _standing there_.

 _Let him go._ Ring growled, barring his fangs. The demon refused to budge, and Rin kindled the flames in his body- but didn't let them manifest.

 **Let him go.** He met the demon's eyes and the demon than the creature broke the connection with Bon and scrambled away in fear.

The entire room was silent, and Rin had to take a few deep breaths to keep from exposing himself. He heard someone stir behind him, and he whirled to face the stupid idiot he had just saved.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked, and felt a sigh of relief. Bon wasn't, but he wasn't terrible, he looked shaken, but the demon didn't have him any more- he hadn't been taken. Rin hadn't failed this time. Rin felt his own anger rise within him- his own this time, not anyone else's.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed!" Rin seethed, approaching the other. Bon fell back, starring up at him. Shaken, clearly recovering from the mental attack.

"I told you not to go down there, how stupid are you!? What the hell were you thinking! I'm going to be the one to kick Satan's ass and no one else! So stay out of my way and don't do stupid shit like that again!"

Rin hadn't even realized he'd tacked that last part on until Bon stood up and started yelling at him. But Rin was ready, drawing up a mental wall. Bon's gusts were on one side, he was on the other- they were arguing but Rin wasn't getting swept up.

Rin left gym that day feeling as if he'd just made a huge step in some kind of direction. Bon even gave him that hair clip the next day- which actually worked! He thanked Bon and looked back down at his book, blinked and then looked back at Bon.

"What?" the guy snapped, and Rin looked away with a small smile. "Nothing,"

One of the wounds on Bon's statue didn't look infected or bad. It felt lighter, smaller. It was healing.

 _I guess that means I'm two for two,_ Rin hummed, and Yukio walked in, _Now if only I can figure out why Yukio's so wound up… he's such a worry wort._

Rin made it a point to acquaint himself with what the rest of his class mates were like so the incident with Bon didn't happen again. He didn't want to get wound up on accident again and lose his temper- that would be bad.

He also didn't want to talk to Shiemi after yesterday- he'd totally lost his temper when the guys had teased him, which had been uncool.

So he asked the guys what a meister was, and to get a better feel of the third guy from Kyoto. Konekomaru was warm, like a small heating lamp or a kotatsu- yeah a kotatsu sounded right. He was comfortable to sit by.

Bon was definitely a giant Buddha statue- with its own weather forecast and everything, but the clouds around him weren't to stormy, maybe the winds were only there when he was angry?

Shima was… hard to get a feel for. He was a mirror. Reflecting Konekomaru's warmth and Bon's sheer presence. Which troubled him- how could someone just be a reflection?

At least he didn't have any open wounds or cracks, like Bon. Konekomaru had a bad leg, like a wobbly table might have. Rin knew from whatever had happened with Bon the other day that it was because of his family. _Speaking of which was that mind reading or just looking directly at a wound or what?_ Rin wondered, as Bon explained to him about what a dragoon and knight were.

"Swords?" Rin perked up, "I'll be a knight then."

"yeah, you're always carrying that thing around," Shima leaned forward and Rin felt something at the edge of the mirror stir, and Rin tried to catch what it was but looking at Shima… all he felt was an exact copy of the room, but not one good enough to fool anyone, it was clearly a reflection when you looked. But if you weren't looking you might not even notice he was there. Creepy.

"Ah, yeah it's kind of a memento from my dad," Rin felt his heart bleed at the thought of his old man. He wondered what his aura felt like to others… and how that particular wound manifested. The small break between classes was over shortly after that, and summoning and symbols began.

The teacher, Neuhaus, Rin had felt right from the first day of school. He was like a giant, black, festering _thing_ and Rin avoided him whenever he could. He could kind of block people out, but there was a reason he always stayed close to Shiemi in this class, or more specifically put Shiemi between him and the teacher. It kind of felt like he was using her, but the teacher just made his skin crawl- and no one else seemed to be bugged by it but him. So whatever.

He felt a lot like the thing he summoned in the class, which stunk, and was a rotting corpse. Everyone else seemed interested- Rin made a note that the thing could be sent away by breaking the circle and mentally said, _No thank you._

Rin tried to block out the teacher and Bon beside him, and get a feel for the two shadows of the class. Rin didn't know their names- some guy with a puppet and someone who always played games. Everyone had tried to speak to them at one point before, but they never answered. Even the teachers ignored them, which made it easy to forget they were there. Both of them didn't have much of a presence, like Konekomaru. The guy in the hoodie kind of felt like a snake, a whole ball of them. Which was weird- but this whole aura thing was weird.

At least if he felt anything slithering he'd know who it was.

The eyebrow girl took the stage, pricking her finger and holding out two sheet of paper. There were two pops, like two fire crackers going off. The kind you lit in your hand and then threw down gutters or off into the street. Two foxes appeared. Rin suddenly wished he'd been paying attention, "Wow what are those? Those are cool!"

Everyone clapped and praised her and Rin looked over to Bon and the other guys, who were saying they had nothing. Nothing of what? Rin didn't know what was going on. Shiemi raised her paper,

"Well here goes nothing!" she pricked her finger and swiped blood across the paper. Rin blinked as he felt the air around her stir subtly, the golden liquid glowing brighter, "come, come, c'mere! Or something like that!" she smiled, and the tea cup just tilted a bit, and a drop of her liquid brightness dripped out. The drop grew… greener. It shot through her finger and into the circle and manifested into a tiny ball of plant.

Rin stared and looked down at his paper, was that what they were doing?! That looked cool! He wondered if he was up next. Rin looked down at his paper. The teacher started talking though- and he looked up and listened, because he was actually interested in the class now. Unfortunately they ended up breaking class though, and Rin didn't get to try, he watched Shiemi run to leave with the other girls. He tagged along behind with Bon and the others.

"What the, Shiemi looks like a servant for that fire cracker girl," Rin said, and Bon raised an eyebrow.

"Fire cracker?" "You mean Kamiki-san?" Konekomaru asked quietly.

Rin blinked and mentally hit himself- these people didn't have aura-sense or whatever. They didn't know what he was talking about, "eh, yeah."

"They're just playing around," Bon clicked his tongue, "anyway you were saying you needed help with chants?"

"Ah, yeah I was wondering if you could help me with the homework," Rin said, half distracted. The next few days leading up to the study camp slowly got him worked up.

That fire cracker girl- because she would go off in short bursts- she was totally making Shiemi her servant. Bullying her around and making her do stuff. To bright and innocent to see she was being used, Shiemi only bowed and said yes.

At least the other girl seemed okay. Quite, but steady. Like a firm hand. She often put out fire cracker's fuses before she could blow, but some fuses were too short. And gentleness only got so far. He'd seen her try to help Shiemi stand up for herself, but the bright girl was having none of it.

Rin couldn't stand it anymore, he confronted Shiemi as she walked away from the baths.

"You're not helping!" Rin explained, wanting her to see the truth, "you know better!"

He paused when he felt Shiemi dim, "I don't like hiding behind others and… always letting them help me." Rin felt guilty- what had he done? He'd hurt Shiemi- or so he'd thought. He'd been nearly blinded as she flared up brighter than he'd ever seen her- radiating energy instead of reflecting it.

"I want to be strong so I can help others! I mean she's my very first friend!" Rin had to blink and step away from the light, and in that second Shiemi brushed past him, "you wouldn't understand! You're strong and you've got friends!"

Rin blinked and stared after her, feeling indignant for some reason, he started running after her, "Wait! What are you attacking me for?!" since when had he been the _bad_ guy?

He had just grabbed the back of her shirt when they heard the other girls screaming.

"Paku and-" Shiemi declared, Rin was already moving. He could feel something dark and ugly back in the direction of the restroom.

"Call Yukio!" He charged ahead, not hearing the bright call behind him.

"Wait for me!"

Rin burst into the restroom without hesitation, pulling his sword off his shoulder- but not drawing it. He wasn't so stupid to pull the blade in front of everyone and blow his whole cover.

The quite girl was down- and there was a rotting thing standing over her- like the Neuhaus' summon from earlier… fire cracker was being attacked by her foxes. Damnit- he could feel where she'd been cut down the middle and was gaping open. Fire powder lying around, directionless.

He knocked the foxes away easily and looked over his shoulder, "The paper!" he said, and looked back at the rotting thing.

 _Well it's not attacking her, but she's injured. It's big and it's ugly and I'm not going to be able to scare it off without my flames- shit what do I do?_

Just as all seemed dark, a burning light made its way into the room.

"Rin!" Shiemi only paused for a second, "Paku! Rin, keep that thing back so I can treat Paku!" then she was moving right towards the thing.

The dark creature didn't like her light and was going to back off, he could feel it. That's why it wasn't so hard to knock away from the unconscious girl.

"This way you gross freak!"

 **My… young… master…**

The words made Rin pause, and the thing grabbed him by the face and hurled him into the showers. What the hell? This thing could talk?! The thing came baring down on him and started choking him. Rin didn't bother to hold himself back. He pried apart the hand with all his strength, barely keeping himself from being suffocated.

 **Forgive… me… I act… on the will… of my…** _ **master**_

 _Master? Satan?_ Rin thought, and looked up at the thing. Dark and rotten and… _This wasn't sent by him._

Rin could see the strings, equally rotten and dark and _familiar_. Neuhaus- that aura screamed him- but why was he sending demon's after him? Why attack the girls?

"Nii-san?!" Yukio stormed in- Bon and all the other guys were with him as well. Bullets were fired and the demon was knocked off him- then ran away and disappeared. Rin gripped his throat and sat up, seeing Yukio running over to where Shiemi was treating Paku.

 _Good she's safe- where's fire cracker? She's hurt._ Rin thought, picking him and his sword up. Everyone was crowded around Shiemi's light, drawn like moths as the dark aura lingered. Rin followed the trail of gun powder around the lockers- the girl was leaking like a sand back. What had hurt her so badly? Did the demon latch onto her? He narrowed in on her aura, rounding the corner and stopped, he couldn't hear her, but he could hear her aura.

 **I couldn't do anything. I couldn't help my only friend! She must hate me!**

She was clouded by fears- none of which he could help with. Her friend and she had fought… that was something he couldn't really help with. Well, maybe one thing he could help with. He pulled off his sweater and dropped it over her head, "put that on" he said quietly, and nodded to the door, holding his tail behind his back so she wouldn't see it. He didn't watch her put it on, but watched her silently flee, and stayed around the back as the others left. Or tried to.

"Ni-san… where did you're shirt go?" Yukio asked Blankley.

"Oh, uh- it got some of that ghoul stuff on it so I had to ditch it is all. I'm fine though," Rin waved them on, sending a message to Yukio via twin telepathy with a pointed stare. _Get the out of here before they see my tail you idiot!_

Everyone left soon enough, and he was able to dodge back up to his room. He pulled on another sweater and sat down on his bed- too tired to go back downstairs just to say good night to everyone. He didn't know when he dozed off, but he woke up when Yukio came into the room.

"You really need to loosen up, you're wound up to tightly," he mumbled, sitting up on his bed and rubbing his eyes.

Yukio blinked at him, having just set his glasses down, "What?" he looked confused.

Rin waived his hand vaguely, not in the mood to explain everything just then, "Never mind. Are the girls okay?" Rin didn't even know their names, he realized he should probably change that.

"yeah," Yukio took off his tie and started getting undressed- moving over to his closet, "Paku-san will heal up in a weak, and Izumo's doing okay, I saw she had your shirt," Yukio gave him a grateful look before he pulled on his sleeping shirt, "I was going to chew you out for that but… thanks. I think you saved her a lot of embarrassment tonight."

"She was already hurt, I think her friend said something to her," Rin sat up, "her foxes turned on her- she had to tear her paper."

Yukio frowned, and he could almost feel the tension in him crank up, "really?"

"Yeah, and what was with that demon?" Rin asked, standing up, "why did a summon attack them?"

Yukio jolted and stared at him like he'd just grown a second head, "how do you…"

"It's the same thing Neuhaus summoned in class!" Rin threw up his hands- he could have made that connection **without** the aura-sense thing! It was kind of obvious, "a ghoul, right!? Which the wards would keep out?! I'm not the brightest apple bro- but I'm not stupid! What's going on?" Rin put his hands on his hip and gave his brother a stern look.

Yukio looked guilty, "I-I can't." Rin raised an eyebrow, Yukio adjusted his glasses putting on his 'professional' face, "it's got something to do with… I can't."

"No one has to know that I know," Rin pointed out, "Yukio, I need to know. Else I'm just going to end up doing something stupid. If people get into danger I'm going to do everything I can to help them. Secrecy of my powers or no. I can't just hang back and watch people get hurt- but if it's a set up for some reason you've got to warn me so I don't do stupid shit. Right?"

Yukio paused, his serious demeanor cracking. He looked to the side and there was a long moment of silence, ended with a quiet, "You can't tell anyone else." Yukio ran a hand through his hair, pacing down the room a bit, "I mean, I really _shouldn't_ be telling you, but you're right. Not telling you might- you might do something rash." Yukio turned back to face Rin before moving over to his desk chair. He sat in his chair and Rin sat on his brother's bed expectantly. Yukio looked tense and worried, "the whole weekend it going to be the test, Mephisto's idea."

Rin was surprised by this, but didn't say anything as his brother continued, apparently the study camp being the test wasn't the issue here, he could feel the tension of the spring twisting in annoyance, "I'm not going to go into any details so you can't get an advantage but Neuhaus is… providing the demons, but…"

"You think he's going too far." Rin crossed his arms, tail lashing out in memory of what had happened earlier, "Paku could have been seriously hurt- no she **is**. A week recovery?" Rin held out a hands, "That's not something you throw at newbies- and the ghoul didn't back down when fire-cracker's foxes turned on her, it kept attacking. Even before I got there." Rin concluded, and a little bit of tension slid out of his brother's shoulders, he'd hit the mark. Well, more like Yukio's aura had taken him there. Whatever.

"Exactly," Yukio agreed completely, and it seemed voicing his disagreement was helping relieve the tension if only a bit, "I think that he's trying to expose you. His family got killed on the blue night… he might be looking for revenge."

"Maybe," Rin thought absently. But he knew the truth. His teacher was just rotten, he wasn't a good person to begin with. Maybe he was like some manga creep-villain that got their kicks off seeing people in pain. Rin looked across the room at his sword, laying on his bed, "so… how do we keep him from exposing me?"

Yukio blinked and looked at him, Rin shrugged raising both hands, "Yukio, we need to deal with this guy, but I can't be exposed. We should… think of something now while we have the advantage of seeing things coming, or something like that, right?"

Yukio frowned, "well just don't draw your blade and we should be fine."

Rin shook his head, "I did that today and I was useless- if I was human I'd be in the hospital Yukio." _Those tiles hurt- thank god for regenerative powers_. "I need something to attack with in case something like this happens again- something I can use in front of the others."

"I don't…" Yukio frowned, then looked thoughtful, there was a whir and then a small click, and his brother's aura was… ticking? Rin paused as a whole part of his brother he'd never seen just… activated. The tension unwinding, turning gears and lighting up a whole machine. Holy shit he was like one of those old fashioned clocks. That was… so cool!

"We could just get you another sword," Yukio looked confident in this thought, "You guys are nowhere needing combat, weaponry, but if Neuhaus is really trying to expose you… it might not be a bad idea to have something that isn't the Kurikara."

"R-right. That's a good idea," Rin smiled- he'd finally gotten his brother to unwind.

It was awesome, felt awesome too, it was like his whole aura was alive, it reminded him of when they used to solve puzzle games together. "Now where are we going to get a sword?" Rin asked, and Yukio absently picked at the keys on his belt. "I'm fairly sure… dad had one- I think. I'll have to check tomorrow- but where are you going to put Kurikara? People are going to notice if you're carrying around two swords instead of one."

Rin stood up and crawled over to his desk, and pulled out the key his dad used to carry around on his neck all the time. Yukio's eyes widened.

"The Kamikakushi key? Where- when did you get that?" Yukio climbed out of his chair and took the key gently.

Rin looked down at the key bitterly, "dad gave it to me, he said if I ever needed to hide the sword… to use this. I don't like it though- it feels like Mephisto."

"That's because he made it," Yuko moved to sit on his bed this time, and Rin sat beside him. "Mephisto makes most of the keys- well, he's the only one that can and… this key he made for dad especially. It gives you your own dimension- like an infinite bag of holding- only one you can open."

Rin whistled, "That's pretty… damn. Why'd he give it to dad?"

"Dad and him were… friends," Yukio looked off to the side for a second, then looked back at the key, "he stored stuff for his work in the dimension- or dangerous stuff no one should get their hands on."

"Wow that really is handy. Those two were really close, huh?" Rin said, recalling how the old man had said Mephisto was his friend, "I guess they worked together as well sometimes?" hard to imagine the clown being useful for anything though.

Yukio shifted uncomfortably, "actually… I think they might have been more than that."

Rin blinked and tried to imagine; his dad with that clown… yeah no. that was not a pleasant image for him, hell any image of his dad with anyone- just no. "Ugh, why? He's a clown?"

"I don't know. I try not to think about it too hard." Yukio admitted, opening up a little. Rin hadn't seen him talk like this… or even be this relaxed since coming to this school. Rin figured it had to do something with his aura being active.

"but they were close, I think that's the only reason Mephisto gave us a chance sometimes, and I know it's the only reason I'm here at school… dad and him had some kind of arrangement." he said a little quietly, looking down at the key, "also- I've said this before. Dad was the best Rin. _The_ best. You know those goblins we saw in class? Nothing to him- I've seen him dispel those kinds of things with a glare- literally I have. He wasn't really happy that day."

Rin shuddered, the old man was terrifying when he wasn't in a good mood. So it wasn't hard to imagine that. Not that he was ever abusive towards them- but when things were serious you _didn't_ argue. He'd seen the man break up arguments just with a frown, "and then the summons Neuhaus is doing?" Yukio shook his head, "paper, I know someone who's seen him take out a 100 headed hydra single handedly. Father was practically a one man army."

Rin had actually read that homework assignment- it had sounded really cool, "the snake that its head multiplies when it gets chopped off?" Yukio nodded and Rin whistled, "How'd he do it?"

Yukio grinned, "From what I heard, he blew a hole in its body and shoved a holy water grenade in. Man I wish I could have seen that."

"damn," Rin tried to imagine the old man doing that and somehow it wasn't hard, the old man hadn't ever been creaky or slow like most grey haired geezer's, and he knew how to fight, he'd seen that on their way back to the monastery. He wished he could have been taught by his father rather than going to this school- they could have gone on some epic adventures. Rin sighed and got back to the issue on hand- "so back to this key thing, you think we can trust it?"

"Yeah, I don't see any reason not to." Yukio handed him the key gently, "If you lose the key, you'll lose whatever's in the dimension… unless you're willing to pay Mephisto in order to get to it. Also don't go into the dimension- the door closes behind you and you'd be stuck."

Rin nodded, "right then. I should put my sword away- that way if anything happens I won't be found out." He stood up and walked over to his dresser drawer. He slid the key into the lock and turned it. The drawer opened to one that was definitely not his sock drawer. It was deeper than what was physically there, and longer. It looked like the drawer his dad had pulled it out of, actually. Rin put the sword in, and closed the drawer, locking it. He stepped away from the drawer, and waited a few minutes. When nothing happened, he looped the long necklace chain around his neck.

"Right, time for bed," Rin declared, turning to Yuko.

Yukio nodded and stood up Rin stopped him from going to the other side of the room for a second, by placing a hand on his shoulder, "Hey man, thanks for talking to me about this." He smiled, "god knows what stupid shit I'd pull if I had thought we weren't being tested."

"Yeah, of course," Yukio gave a hesitant smile back. He was a lot less wound up than he'd been all week, and even if the ticking had come to a slow stop, there was very little tension in the spring.

"So if there's anything else you need someone to talk about, just let me know, okay?" Rin gave him his best big-brother smile he could. Hey, he tried sometimes, he really did, "I'll listen even if it's to yell at me, okay?"

"Where's this coming from?" Yukio asked, confused.

"This," Rin flicked his brother's forehead, "you looked tense. Its how I knew something was up"

Yukio put a hand on his forehead and looked contemplative, then smiled, "thanks Rin, I'll keep that in mind" Yukio said quietly, and Rin took a step back so his brother could have some room. Rin gave him a smile and crawled back into bed.

It felt weird not having the sword to cuddle with- which was ironic because the first few days with the thing Rin had hated that. Still, he went to bed not long after Yukio turned out the lights. They had a plan for tomorrow- they weren't going into this blind.

Yukio got up god-awful early like he did every day. Rin would have been content to stay curled up in his sheets until he himself needed to get up, but knowing that everyone in the building could be 'tested' at any point in time had him feeling antsy.

Rin gave up and rolled out of bed, scratching his stomach, "I'm going to go check dad's stuff for that sword," Yukio said, adjusting the collar to his Jacket, "I'll have it to you before first class, okay?"

"M'kay, I'm going to go wash up," Rin said, and after pulling on some sweats he headed out. A shower did wonders for making one feel alive again- especially brushing out his tail. He hatted when it got all knotted. If only his mouth wasn't so fuzzy. Rin started brushing his teeth when he sensed someone walking down the stairs.

"Good morning," It was Kamiki- the fire cracker girl.

"Gubmomum," Rin said around his toothbrush and spit down into the sink. The girl went to stand at the faucet as well, but she didn't start brushing her teeth or her face or anything. Instead she started talking.

"Listen," she sounded serious, Rin paused, cup of water at his lips, "Don't tell anyone I was crying yesterday."

"Why would I tell anyone?" he asked honestly- and the short fuse hissed and the fire cracker popped.

"Just shut up and promise!" she looked absolutely furious.

"I won't tell anyone yeesh." _This girl is scary._ Rin thought and caught the thing she threw at him more out of reflex than anything else.

"Here! Thanks for lending it to me." Rin blinked down to at his sweater and couldn't help but smile. "You saved Paku and me. So… thanks."

"You washed it!" Rin could tell because it was still warm from the dryer, and smelled like the detergent they kept in the washing area, "maybe you aren't so bad after all Fire-cracker girl!"

The words lit the fuse and in less than a second the girl exploded again, "I just washed it because it was dirty! And why am I a fire cracker?!"

 _Woah talk about mood swings, I'll have to be careful, well at least she seems okay, compared to last night._ Rin sweat dropped, then looked over his shoulder as he sensed his brother approaching from downstairs. He was ticking again- rather than coiling up. Rin decided he rather liked it when Yukio wasn't all wound up- not nearly as gloomy.

"Mr. Okumaru," Izumi greeted. Rin didn't say anything, zoning in on the long blade in his brother's hand. It was about the length of the Kurikara, but it was… battered. A brown reddish handle with a worn looking scabbard, no fancy designs or even a cord to tie it to a waist band. It looked rather plain, but well used. It kind of made Kurikara look ornamental.

"Morning, Nii-san, Ms. Kamiki." Yukio said, coming to the top of the stairs.

"Morning," Rin muttered, and Yukio made eye contact with him, before handing over the sword. It was heavier than Kurikara. Not by a lot, but noticeably so.

"Is that your father's sword?" Kamiki asked, and Rin blinked over at her rather… warry tone.

"Ah, yeah." It wasn't a lie, technically. He realized for the first time that none of the others had actually _seen_ his sword, he generally kept it in its carrier so people wouldn't outright question _why_ he was walking around armed. He made a note to himself to get the red carrier out of storage- wielding what was clearly a weapon apparently unnerved some people. The room suddenly felt a little awkward.

"I'm going up to check on Ms. Paku, do you want to come with?" Yukio, his lord and savior. Though he felt the fire cracker snap in half, spilling gunpowder everywhere at being reminded of her friend's injuries. Yukio and he were going to have a talk about sensitivity one of these days.

His brother and the firecracker went off, trailing gunpowder in their midst. Rin headed up to the roof after a quick breakfast, and a stop at his room to get the carrier. Rin had until then, that was when their classes for the day would start in the cram school. It was about eight now, he wanted to take this opportunity to get acquainted with his new weapon.

 _Funny, I don't think about the Kurikara as such._ He thought, looking over the sword to make sure it was in good condition, that none of the straps or anything were lose. _Kurikara feels kind of like an extension of myself, I don't generally think about it like some kind of weapon._

Which it was, a very deadly one, which he really didn't want to think about right now.

Once he was sure the sword was safe for actually swinging, Rin took the stance he had been working on for a few weeks now. He'd done some research on how to fight with a sword- namely through YouTube videos and some online tutorials- hey it wasn't like he had someone to teach him this kind of stuff.

This new blade was thicker- it took a second to find a good balance for his grip. Then Rin raised the blade above his head, and brought it down, taking a step forward. The blade came down in a straight arc, stopping way to low, the heavier weight having brought his swing down lower than he'd expected.

"One," he slid his other foot forward to become level with his first, bringing the blade back up above his head, and slid that same foot forward, making another slice down trying to keep the blade level, "two- holy shit this thing's heavy," Rin could feel the weight in the cut of the blade, coming down like an axe. He repeated the motion, "three, four and turn." Rin pivoted- his stance would make any true swordsman cringe but he didn't have anyone to point that out, Rin backtracked, practicing the swing. "Five, six, seven eight."

Rin did this back and forth, pacing out a line on the roof. Doing basic swings and just getting a feel for the sword. He hadn't had to do this with Kurikara- it was like that sword had been formed to his hand. _Or my soul, which it is kind of._

 _Maybe that's how my aura would feel to everyone else's. Like a blade. The cracks in my heart would be chips, or unsharpened areas._ Rin thought, feeling the sweat beginning to accumulate on his brow, and his arms starting to sting with the weight of this heavier blade. He'd set an alarm on his phone to tell him when to head to class- he'd have to stop earlier than he'd first planned to clean up- he didn't want to smell like sweat all morning. _Dad used this sword._

He thought of the old man facing off against demons, katana drawn like some kind of samurai knight. Rin wondered if the old man had thought the blade to heavy, or if it had fit him, just like Kurikara did Rin.

 _I don't even know this sword's name._ Rin frowned, that idea troubled him. It kind of felt wrong for a sword not to have a name, didn't they usually have one? He'd have to ask Yukio later. He'd also have to ask him more about Neuhaus. If the guy really had an out for him, they'd have to think of some way to keep the other students from getting caught up in any sort of cross fire.

"Eight, and turn," Rin brought the sword above his head, and pivoted, freezing when he made eye contact with the bright light that was suddenly in his path.

"Wah- Shiemi!" Rin took a step back and lowered the blade, resting it down onto his shoulder, but still clutching it with two hands. Shiemi was standing there with a basket of clothes- when had she gotten here?

"D-don't sneak up on me! I could have hurt you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry- I didn't know you were going to turn," she looked genuinely astonished, and stepped away. Her eyes were wide and on the blade. Rin suddenly felt very self-conscious, he hid the sword behind his back.

"Well, no harm no foul, I guess," Rin said, "so- uh- what are you doing up here?"

"I was going to hang everyone's bed sheet out to dry!" she sounded way to enthusiastic, lifting up the plastic basket, "so I guess you come up here to practice you're swings?"

"Ah, yeah." Rin picked up the scabbard and put the blade away, then slid the sword into the red carrier with ease, "you need any help?" he asked.

"No thanks, I can manage," Shiemi said, then looked down at her familiar, "right Nii?"

The demon agreed enthusiastically and Rin nodded, it was probably about time for him to clean up anyway, "okay, I'll go get ready for school then, the roof's all yours." Shiemi nodded and started setting up, Rin walked towards the ladder and paused, something bugging him, "hey… you aren't planning on becoming an exorcist, right?" _What if she gets attacked for the test, is she exempt or not?_ Rin wondered.

"I don't know," Shiemi looked uncertain, then determined, "But I want to help in whatever way I can. Starting with the laundry." She smiled, hefting up the basket. The golden liquid caught the morning light and it was beautiful.

Something he never would want to see broken.

Rin frowned, wondering if this meant she'd be part of the test or not. He guessed it did, but at the same time… he didn't want Shiemi to be put into danger. Battles weren't the kinds of places for fragile people like her.

He stayed and helped her with the laundry.

After they were done they went off to cram school class with the rest of the others. Kamiki was trailing gunpowder like crazy, staring off in her own world more than Rin was. Rin wondered if it was because she and Paku had gotten in another fight- there was gunpowder everywhere. He didn't know how to help her though- she needed to talk to Paku, obviously. At least she wasn't bullying Shiemi anymore…

He watched again as she fumbled with an answer- this time a chant. The teacher called on Bon instead and Rin was impressed when they guy was able to recite every last word.

"Amazing! I guess you really are smart!" Rin clapped, Shiemi along with him. Rin regretted the words the second he felt a small explosion from the side of the room. It wasn't its usual pop though- more like a giant flash of powder, which left a smoldering pile of ash afterwards.

"Memorization is just fake intelligence,"

"Huh, did you say something?"

Rin watched in dread as storm clouds started gathering around the giant Buddha statue.

"I said," she wasn't popping like a fire work now- more like crackling in sparks- _wait she can set the gunpowder off without a fuse? Oh this is not going to be good._ Rin flitted his gaze between the two of them, not sure what to do. "Memorization has nothing to do with being smart."

"Oh? You can't even remember four lines." Bon's angry storm winds reached Kamiki, and she took off like sand in a dust storm. Just like Rin had been caught in the winds last week. The sparks spread and caught, Rin flinched as the explosion came in succession. Kamiki yelled something, and Bon yelled back. The two were standing up now, and- the hate was battering against Rin's own mind as they got closer to each other.

It was a fire storm, gunpowder and winds fueled with hatred and _these two are so bad for each other._

Rin sunk lower into his chair, covering his face with his book.

On one hand he wanted to step in and stop the fight that was happening right in front of him, on the other he was barley keeping his mental walls up. He **could not** get caught up in the storm, he would lost his temper much too quickly. It was taking everything he had just to not get caught up- his knuckles went white as he gripped the book.

 _Blue fire, and gun powder all whirling together in a windstorm-_ Rin felt the ends of his book start to bend, _I- no that can't happen. I need to get out of here. It's trying to suck me in._

He could feel it, just like he could feel Bon's winds tugging at him back in the gym, telling him to rise up in anger and fight. He could feel himself getting irritated- was that him or Bon's anger affecting him? He didn't know. Was Kamiki's fire sparking his own? Not good.

 _I need to get out of here_ _ **now**_ _._

Rin stood up with the panicky thought- and something smacked him across the face.

Rin staggered to the side- more in shock than in actual pain.

Kamiki was looking at him, stunned, and Bon was grabbing her sweater vest.

They were literally right in front of him.

The room was silent in the sense of hearing.

His sixth sense was howling, as the walls became unsteady, and creaked in the wind.

No one else probably saw any reason for his hands to be shaking, he was probably pale too.

"Rin, are you okay?" Shiemi flashed nervously in the corner of his vision.

"Look what you've done!" Thunder crashed with Bon's voice.

"You started it!" several explosions, like a barrage of missiles rocked him- like a fist pounding on the walls separating the storm from him.

It all started to slip- and Rin panicked.

 _Too much anger- I need to leave now._

He fled the room.

As quickly as he could, only picking up his sword only out of habit- the heavier weight barely registering in his mind.

Several people called his name as he left- one of them might have been Yukio but he wasn't sure.

He needed to get _away_ , away from the anger and away from people. Rin fled down the hall until he couldn't feel the storm calling his name behind him. Until he was out of the cram school. Back in the dorms.

Rin fumbled with the key to the room. Then even more so with the key to his dresser drawer. He pulled the familiar blue sword out of hiding and clutched it to his chest, sinking down onto the ground.

Just having it clutched to his chest felt like the first dose of some kind of asthma inhaler.

His power returning to him, and reestablishing the walls.

Rin clutched the blade closer to his chest- _I nearly just lost control, god what if I had?_ He fell to his knees and cradled the sword closer, right above his heart.

"Nii-san?" He looked up to find his brother at the entry way, looking angry and wound so tight he just might break.

Rin felt something inside him break, and tears started forming at the corners of his eyes.

He was scared- so scared. He had just nearly lost control and- if he had what would have happened? The usual fist fight? A massive fire? Who knew- he suddenly understood why everyone was concerned with him being in control.

He clutched Kurikara closer to his chest and bowed his head, tears falling onto the matt beneath his knees. He really was a demon.

"It's okay Nii-san, everything's okay," Yukio said quietly closing the door behind him.

"t-their anger was pulling me in a-and I was about to lose control," Rin explained, "I had to leave- I couldn't draw the lines- I didn't realize it and- I nearly lost control of it all, not just my temper…"

"It's okay Nii-san" Yukio sat kneeled down in front of him, and reached out a hand. Rin tensed and his brother paused for a second, then sat down in front of him. Close but not touching, "you did the right thing- its okay."

Rin blinked up as his brother, "y-you're not angry at me?"

"No," Yukio shook his head, and moved so he was sitting against the dresser, Rin shifted to sit beside him as well, still clutching the sword to his chest.

"Rin you- you were removing yourself from the situation, which was the best thing you could have done." A smile twitched at his brother's lips, "fifteen years, and you've finally figured out how to walk away. Father would be proud."

"I don't feel like anyone should be proud," Rin admitted quietly, wiping his face off with his sleeve, and sniffing, "I ran away because I was scared of hurting someone."

He checked to make sure the door was closed before he unwrapped his tail from around his torso, slumping down against the dresser, he felt exhausted, "I could feel it- a storm of hate and- it tried to pull me in and-" Rin shook his head, trying to forget the feeling.

"Yukio I can't be around people when they're really angry- It jumps over to me and then _I_ lose my temper. It happened with Bon last week, for sure."

 _Thank god for Shima being the mirror he is and disconnecting me from that whirlwind._ Rin thought warily. _Who knows where things would have gone._

Yukio didn't speak for a while, he looked like he was half way between shock and coming to some kind of revelation.

"It… jumps over to?" Yukio asked slowly, settling down to be more comfortable.

Rin nodded, "I can feel it, like an aura." He relaxed a bit more, sitting cross legged instead of curling up, resting his sword in his lap. "You know from that manga you read- where the guy could see different colors around people and it corresponded to their emotions? Only it's not colors, it's just feelings." Yukio nodded, but clearly wanted him to explain further.

"Like… Bon's a hurricane when he gets angry and it catches people up and makes them angrier. But when' he's not he's a giant Buddha statue glaring down at you. Kamiki's a fire work, she gets angry but it's only in short explosions- but when she got Bon angry he whipped up a storm, she got caught in it and…"

Rin shuddered at what the room had felt like before he left, clutching his head between his hands, "gunpowder was everywhere and it was like a war zone in there Yukio- what's worse was that Bon was going to drag me in and I know he didn't mean it but _still_. I had to leave- I couldn't stay in there any longer- because it was just getting _worse_."

"I see," Yukio said quietly, "after you left they kind of lost momentum- how you had just left like that- you looked like you were about to either be violently sick or pass out. You scared me when you opened the door and didn't even notice I was there."

"I think I kind of felt like throwing up," Rin admitted quietly.

Yukio's phone went off, it was a text. He frowned as he started texting whoever it was, clearly thinking. Rin didn't say anything, he shifted and his elbow jostled the second blade beside him. Apparently had leaned the unnamed sword up against the wall beside him, and it fell onto his shoulder. He shifted the blade down to his lap, beside Kurikara. The two swords looked radically different in his lap, Kurikara all smooth and ornate, the unnamed one worn and used.

Rin shifted and looked up Yukio, who was frowning at the phone, "… hey do you know what this swords name is?" Rin asked, wanting to break the silence and also change the topic.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't think it had one," Yukio paused to look down at the sword, "I know he used it to teach sword skills, I don't think he ever used it in battle. It was the only one I could think of on such short notice."

"For teaching?" Rin frowned, there went his image of his dad using the heavy blade in battle, "what'd he use in battle then?" Rin wished he'd gotten to see the old man in battle.

Yukio shook his head, and pinched his nose, "does it matter?" he sighed, looking down at his phone, "Mephisto says you can stay out of this class, but you have to come back for pharmaceuticals, and then the study sessions" Yukio looked wary, "the final test is tonight- I'll see if we can maybe push it back- or maybe get you to sit this out…"

"No, I should be there for the test," Rin shook his head adamantly, and took a deep breath, drawing power from Kurikara. After a few seconds Rin stood up and put blade back into the drawer, locking it with the key.

"You sure?" Yukio ratcheted up just a little as Rin tucked his tail back under his shirt.

Rin placed a hand over his chest, and took a deep breath. It definitely felt like being unplugged from some kind of charger. He could feel his energy kind of limited inside him. It should be enough though- the lines were strong, "yeah- so long as I don't get stuck in between again them I should be fine."

Rin hoped- but like hell was he going to just leave his class mates hanging. If the final test was coming up… he was their only strong fighter. Sure Bon might be able to get a few punches in- but he couldn't take a _ghoul_ on. He needed to be there.

It was awkward coming back into class- the tension between Kamiki and Bon was palpable. They weren't fighting, but the storm was still raging. Rin assessed that the aura was strongest near Bon and sat as far away from Bon as he could.

The storm was centered on him after all, things were worse around him. This raised some eyebrows since it was so far from his usual spot. He sat right by the door- a few rows in front of Kamiki, and put his head down.

Yukio started class, his no-nonsense voice chilling the students. He didn't call Rin for any answers or anything, just let him sit there with his head down. Bless him. The storm was still going strong, and even though Rin had taken as much charge as he could from Kurikara, it was taking all of his mental concentration just to sit there. He wanted to leave- every hair on his neck was saying that this situation was dangerous. Rin needed to stay though.

 _They need me tonight. Neuhaus isn't going to hold back just because I'm not there- he'll still hurt them._ Rin gripped his forearms tightly.

"Hey… Rin?" Rin blinked and sat up, seeing that Yukio was wiping the board clear. Was class done already? That was quick.

"You okay?" Konekomaru was the one talking to him. Hovering beside him.

Shiemi and Kamiki were already leaving, and Bon and Shima were hanging around on the other side of the class room. Shima was talking to Bon quietly, and Yukio was watching him out of the corner of his eye.

The storm still brewing, but not trying to drag him in nearly as bad as it had been. Kamiki was out of the room so no fiery explosions.

"Ah, yeah," Rin replied warily, Konekomaru looked unconvinced.

"You sure? You looked nearly white as a sheet when you left…" it was an open invite, Rin could feel it. Come sit down, talk and relax beside the kotatsu.

Rin could see it like a money cat waving him into a store. Konekomaru wanted to help- he was a good guy.

"I just…" Rin didn't want to blow him off- but he couldn't tell him everything. A part of Rin felt as if he sat down and talked with Konekomaru… he wouldn't be able to keep everything from just poring off his chest.

Rin sighed, "I have a real bad temper. I didn't want to lose it," _and set fire to everything in the room._ Rin rubbed his neck warily.

Konekomaru sat down on the other side of the desk with him, looking ready to listen. Rin had to turn away from the aura, it wasn't hard to do. His presence wasn't nearly as strong as all the others. The hard part was that he kind of wanted to. He didn't like lying, keeping things inside him like Yukio did. He liked getting his emotions out and in the open.

"When people get angry around me… I just have a tendency to pick up on that anger is all. So the fighting over me like that… I just had to remove myself from the situation."

"Oh well that's understandable," Konekomaru nodded with a small smile, "Bon does the same thing, someone pushes his buttons and he kicks up a storm."

"I do not," Rin tensed as Bon and Shima walked over. Bon was kicking up again, but seemed to clear up as he came to a stop in front of the table.

Rin wondered if this was a sort of eye-of-the-storm thing, Bon's aura wasn't nearly as imposing when he was standing right in front of you. Well, the storm anyway. Having a giant Buddha statue glaring down at you took a while to get used to.

"You okay? She looked like she got you pretty good," Bon actually looked concerned.

"Ah, yeah," Rin absently placed a hand over the side of his face that had been smacked earlier, "I didn't hurt too much." Bon clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.

"What's with her going off like that all of a sudden?" he asked, then grumbled quietly, "Thinking she's better than all of us?"

"She's just worried about her friend," Yukio walked up, bag in hand, he gave Rin a warry look as if asking if he was okay.

Rin gave him a small nod and looked over back to Bon, "yeah I don't think she's really angry at you," Rin said, "I think she's angry at herself for messing up and is just taking it out on you."

"Well she can take her anger somewhere else, cause I aint putting up with it," Bon seethed.

"Nii-san's just telling you not to take it so personally," Yukio said levelly, checking his watch, "we should all head back to the dorm now, the study session will be starting soon."

Rin stood up and collected his things, as did the guys. Bon and Konekomaru led the way, with Yukio and Rin trailing behind.

"You didn't look so well in class, sure you don't want to take tonight off?" he asked quietly.

"I'll make it through," Rin didn't sound confident, because he wasn't.

Just sitting in the same room as them was hard. When it came to the test? Rin gripped the strap on his sword tighter. He wished he had Kurikara.

 _But I'm not going to blow my cover for that sick bastard. Attacking students so harshly- I'll show him._ Rin thought determinedly.

He looked up in front of them, seeing that Shima was in between the front group and the back. He got an impression of something with way to many legs, before the mirror swiveled around and blinded him with a double image of Yukio and himself.

Yukio's aura winded up to full tension, and he looked like he was about to ask something.

Rin placed a hand over his chest. He gave Yukio a pointed look to Shima, who was idly texting on his phone.

 _Was he listening to us?_ Rin thought, eyes narrowing and becoming suspicious. Why would Shima be doing such a thing? Had they said anything to give themselves away? He didn't think so. Yukio was looking at the kid with the same eyes he had when he told Rin to die. The coil of his brother's mind was still wound, but he felt the gears start to turn around it. This time in a much more sinister manner.

"I just don't want you getting sick," Yukio sounded casual, Rin wouldn't have pegged it for anything being off.

Rin nodded, not trusting himself to give their suspicions away. They walked in silence after that. Shima didn't move up to talk to Bon or move down to talk to them. He just idled himself with his phone the whole way back to the dorm. Rin couldn't help but frown at that. Maybe he'd just been seeing things?

He was hoping to go upstairs for a bit- but Yukio got them started immediately, taking them into the room they'd been using to study in. There were weird rock things in the corner, and some of the teachers were waiting for them. They were all sat down and lectured, specifically Bon and Kamiki- which made the mood worse. He was glad he'd sat off to the side and not between them. Shiemi to his right was obscuring some of the fight's pull, as was the puppet dude.

He'd never felt him out before, but his presence was fairly strong. He kind of felt like one of those string puppets puppet himself- but the string holders were actually being held by the puppet in his hand.

Weird, Rin tried not to think about it too much just like he tried not to think about how heavy this rock was, or how as soon as Yukio left the storm started to pick up again. They were openly being hostile towards each other now, Rin kind of felt sorry for Shima, who'd made the mistake of sitting between the two.

Just before they could really get at it, the lights turned off. The next few seconds were darkness and chaos as several people screamed, Izumi went off in a loud pop, thankfully not setting off the whole storm though. Rin was content with staying stock still, until something landed on his foot, and he joined in the fray.

When Shima finally flicked open his phone, everyone froze and seemed to calm down.

"Did Mr. Okumaru shut the power off as well?" Bon didn't seem to be producing any storm clouds at this second, thank the lord. Rin opened his phone so they'd had more light.

"A power outage?" Izumi asked,

"I don't think so," Konekomaru sounded reasonably wary. "No, the lights are on outside" Shiemi informed from the window. There was a heavy beat of silence as they all looked at each other.

"Let's look in the hallway," Shima said, moving to do so. "Be careful," Konekomaru said warily.

The pink headed mirror laughed, as he opened the door "I like this stuff it's like a real test of courage." Everyone saw the demon clearly lurking on the other side of the door. Shima did to, then promptly shut it.

"Are my eyes bad or did I just-"

"It was real! **Real**!" Rin yelled in a sweat. The pink head dogged to the side just as the door was knocked in, scrambling back behind Bon and him.

The ghoul moved slowly into the room, it's second head kind of moving funny.

"It's the ghoul!" "Shit my legs are asleep I can't move!"

"Everyone down!" Rin yelled, not quite knowing what to expect- but sensing the thing's nasty aura build up in that head. He pulled Shiemi behind him and kept the black splatter from hitting her. Everyone else had no other time to react and had gotten splattered.

"Rin! Move!" The bright sun that was Shiemi shoved him aside after the barrage, "Nii! I need oona-oona!"

"Niii!" her little plant spirit jumped out of the sash around her waist and a huge fucking vine- no a _tree_ shot out of the thing's belly, pinning the ghoul to the wall. The demons started wailing on the tree branches, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Cool…" both him and Bon said under their breaths, looking at the little demon in her hands.

Konekomaru coughed behind him, and Rin turned, to find everyone sitting down. They were all sweating and didn't look to good. "Hey, you guys okay?" The nasty aura of that ghoul was hanging around on them.

"I feel hot," Bon admitted, and Izumi started coughing too.

"What happened to everyone?" Rin asked worriedly. Izumi replied.

"It's the fluid from the ghoul, aren't you being affected?" she asked.

Rin didn't reply- not exactly having an answer. His first thought would be to call Yukio- but this was the test right? _This really is above our level. Fuck, I'm going to kick Neuhaus' ass for this._

"Shiemi bought us some time," Bon answered heavily, "smart move protecting her from the fluid like that. How'd you know it was going to do that?"

"Well it was doing _something_ , and it wasn't close enough to hit us right?" Rin pointed out, "so it had to be something long range- right?" he looked down at Bon, who was frowning deeply at him. Like Yukio did sometimes when he said something incredibly stupid but was somehow smart.

"Look, we need to get you guys some medicine- how do we get rid of these things?" Rin asked, indicating to the ghouls.

"They're really going at it," Bon said warily. The demons were taking a while to break the branches, but they were still coming at them.

"Ghouls get active in the dark," Konekomaru said quietly.

"There are two of them," Rin grinded his teeth. He was the only one standing right now, Shiemi couldn't move without taking away the branches. What did he do? _I could lead them away, and turn on the lights, face them on my own._ Rin took a step forward tentatively, but stopped himself, _not that's probably what the guy wants, to get me alone so I'll use my powers. I need to think of something else._

An idea came to Rin, and he unshouldered his sword carrier, "Listen, I'm going to climb in there and above, I'm fairly certain I could at least get one like that." He could get both of them- but he'd have to take a hit, one probably most humans wouldn't survive.

They'd gotten lucky that no one had really paid attention to the fact that he'd gotten thrown across a room and made a nice indent in the wall without being hospitalized. But only three people had been present for that, and they'd been occupied. This time there would be witnesses, and questions.

"That's insane!" Bon said, and grabbed his arm, "the other one will get you!"

"Duh, so how do we take care of the second one?" Rin said a little heatedly, but stopped himself. He took a calming second and spoke levelly, "is there a way we can keep the other from attacking me? Or does one of you have another weapon or something?"

Everyone fell quiet for a second. Shima stood up and opened his side shirt- quickly connecting four rods together, "I don't swing for much, but I have this" Shima said presenting a khakkhara confidently.

"Shima? You came armed?" Bon asked in surprise.

"of course, I am supposed to protect you," Shima said confidently, but then seemed to lose steam as he actually looked at the forest of branches and demons behind it, "and if that means climbing over there and bashing a few things well… eh, ha, ha" the pink head looked close to crying.

"We can also kill it with chants," Konekomaru pipped up.

"That's right- all ghoul's verses are in the book of John, right?" Bon agreed, then looked up at Rin, "I know the full book, we should try chanting before you guys head in there. I'd rather not risk you guys getting hurt."

 _Seems reasonable, if they break through we'll be more ready for an attack._ Rin nodded and looked down at Shiemi, "how long do you think you can hold this?" he asked.

She looked a little distracted when she answered, she was sweating a little, but not nearly as much as the others who had been hit, "I wasn't hit by that stuff, so I think I'll be fine."

"I know the first ten versus of book John, let me help." Konekomaru offered, "Twenty-one books is a lot, might as well cut the time down."

"Now hold on a second!" Izumi said stubbornly, "once you start chanting it'll just focus on you! It won't work!"

"Tch, you talked so tough earlier and now you're chickening out!" Bon's aura loomed over her at its full height, a tall and mighty mountain, "If you're not going to fight then stay out of the way. Konekomaru, start at chapter one, don't let me throw you off."

The two of them sat down beside each other. Bon in a lotus position as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and Konekomaru with his knees folded, looking a little warry.

"In the beginning was the word…" "Now a certain man was sick…" the two started chanting, and Rin could almost feel the aura in the air, much like when he went to church. These words carried a presence. The demons let out a cry and started hitting the branches faster. Rin held his sword in its carrier like a bat and took up a stance opposite of Shima, the two of them standing closest to the trees.

The chanting was steady and not rushed- calm. _It's so cool that those two can do that, just recite and not get distracted by anything._ Rin thought, looking behind him. The Bon's aura was intimidating, almost amplifying the effects of the chants. Konekomaru's wasn't amplifying- as much as radiating heat. He'd never thought chanting was that useful before- but now he could actually feel it in effect, and it was kind of daunting.

 _We can do this,_ Rin glared determinedly at the oncoming darkness, _humans exorcise demons all the time. Who says I need flames to do it to?_

The chanting was cool, but it took a long time. With the way the demons were both charging through…

"They're moving too quickly," Rin grinded his teeth, "at this rate they'll be through before they even get halfway there."

"Going in there's dangerous, you heard bon," Shima said warily, "we can't do much."

Rin disagreed, he paced up and down the room, looking for an opening, "Shima, give me your staff." Rin said.

"Uh, okay" the pink headed kid gave it to him warily, and Rin shouldered his sword carrier to free both hands. Rin made sure all the screw connections were tight, and considered taking off the ring head. It was a little clunky- but would be unbalanced without it so he'd have to keep it on.

"It'll have to go as is," Rin muttered under his breath and hefted the staff in one hand, lining up his shot. Rin pulled back his arm with the staff in it, gathering up all his energy- and threw the staff like a javelin. The golden rod soared through the opening Rin had thrown it to, hit one of the ghouls in the side, went through its rotted flesh, a few branches and pinned it to the wall.

"holy- _fuck_ " Shima stumbled back away from Rin, looking between him and now the pinned demon. While Rin shook out his hand and shoulder. Throwing things that hard had always made it feel a little weird.

"There, that bought us some time I think," Rin said, watching the demon struggle. It didn't seem to be able to pull its self-off the end.

"h-how'd you do that?" Izumi asked as Rin unshoulder his sword.

Rin blinked, staring at her. _Wait- fuck can normal people not do that?_ Rin wondered- _shit, uh… what do I say? It's got to be something cool._

"Practice," Rin swept his hair to the side and pointed a thumb at himself, "I'm stronger than I look."

Shima looked two seconds away from a panic attack, "practice shmac-"

"Guys! Don't break their concentration," Shiemi berated, and everyone fell silent as they looked down at the chanters who hadn't even looked up. They all stood silently, listening to the lone demon trying to bust through the trees now, and the other one struggling on the wall. _It's moving slower alone, I think I bought us enough time._ Rin thought satisfied. Bon would finish them both off with chants and they Yukio would come in with his medical supplies- everything would be fine, they'd pass the test.

The air in the room was tense though, Izumi and Shima kept giving him looks. Izumi in the same way she had when he'd been carrying the sword without any cover (which was why he hadn't taken it out all the way yet- he didn't want to make everyone uncomfortable.) Shima was watching him without watching him. Being subtle about it. Rin could make out spidery legs on the edges of his aura. He was being sneaky again.

Rin opted not to say anything. The air filled only with the sounds of chants and the demon whacking at trees, they waited. The demon he'd pinned had stopped moving a bit ago, Rin hadn't noticed until now.

After a while Konekomaru trailed off, pausing for a time then blinking as if coming out of a trance. He looked over at the demons grimly, then to Bon, who was still chanting beside him.

"Of course it's in the last chapter," Shima whined, "how long until he's done?"

"Not too long," Konekomaru said, and Rin saw the moment his eyes laid on the already dead demon. Hanging from the wall like a ragdoll. He stiffened and swallowed, glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and made his way to the other side of the room.

The room went still again, until a large thump was heard from the other side of the room. Rin's eyes widened and he cursed, turning to see Shiemi passed out on the ground. He aura cup was nearly empty, being drained by her summon- shit he hadn't been paying enough attention.

"Rin!" Shima shouted and Rin barely got his arm up in time to block the demon's blow as it made a charge for Bon. He was knocked down, but rolled to his feet in less than a second.

"Oh no you don't!" Rin yelled, and tackled the demon from the side. He managed to shove the thing away from Bon, the two of them slamming into the back corner. Rin managed to stay on top, but the demon threw him off like he was a book cover, slamming Rin into the wall right by where they had been. Rin was dazed briefly, but the sight of the dark rot approaching the large statue in the middle of the room kicked him into action.

He pushed Shima aside and growled, kicking off the wall. He shouldered the demon this time, putting all of his weight into the tackle, and it went flying. Rin planted his feet between the demon and the chanter, and bared his fangs. The demon hadn't expected a second attack- he guessed the thing wasn't all that smart to begin with- and Rin got the demon back. _There, now there are two people shaped impressions on the wall._

The demon stood up, letting out a rattling howl as it looked at him. Rin switched his tail in annoyance and held up his fists- not quite sure where his sword had gone to. No matter, he knew how to fight with these better. Rin knew the thing was stronger than him though- he wouldn't win this match. _But I don't have to win, just keep it away from Bon._

Rin sucked in a breath and both he and the demon leapt at each other in the same second. He ducked beneath the thing's haymaker and shoved at the thing's chest with his hands, throwing it off balance. He then swept around with his foot and knocked the thing's legs out from underneath it. Two somethings jumped the demon and Rin held back. They swirled around- damaging it in small, but excessive explosions, like those tiny black cat fireworks on a string. Blowing away the rotting aura.

"Spirit be gone!" Izumi's voice tore through the air, and Rin wasn't sure when he'd stopped paying attention to the others- but he sure was now. The fireworks increased- and the demon was nearly gone. Until a sudden pulse of dark, wretched strength came down from the lines controlling it.

Rin said several choice words that he knew he would have to confess to later that week.

Kamiki's foxes were banished and the demon stood strong and tall, completely whole again. Not even what damage he'd done to it physically was still there. _This is worse than a gym leader using a full restore._ Ring thought grimly, and charged at the demon gain. It knocked him aside into the shelves- and Rin had a little difficulty getting up this time. He felt Bon finish the lines and his aura build. It was like a strike of lightning right out of his storm clouds. Burning away the demon's existence- both halves. Bon, fell to the ground but caught himself, and it was over.

Rin heaved a sigh of relief, and took his time getting up. His ribs were soar, and so were his shoulders. He'd over exerted himself- at least the cut on his head had seemed to stop bleeding. Everyone was staring at him warily. Shima had his sword, Rin noticed. _Totally useless._ Rin noted vaguely, _why does everyone looked so shocked though?_

"What's with all the glum looks?" Rin smiled warily, "we got them, right?" he paused then took a hesitant step back, "guys?" It felt too much like the times he would come back to class after being suspended- and everyone would avoid him and whisper that he was a demon behind his back. Why were they all looking at him? They'd finished the mission- right?

Shiemi stirred and sat up, Kamiki, who was beside here helped her up, "hey you okay?" she asked.

"Hmm" she opened her eyes and then blinked over at him, "Rin… since when do you have a tail?"

Rin's tail recoiled on instinct, closer to his body, and he looked behind him and down- his entire shirt was shredded- and his tail- when had he let his tail out? He grabbed the appendage and held it behind his back, as if hiding it now would change anything. Everyone stared at him, and he stared back at them- not knowing what to say.

He'd blown his cover- they knew what he was now- they _knew_. He took a step backwards warily, and tried to say anything- but his throat and mouth were dry.

"What's going on in here?" Yukio always had the worse timing. His brother made eye contact with him and then froze. The alarm written all over his face- a hand was already on his gun-

"Mr. Okumaru," Neuhaus stepped in behind him, and Rin backed away from the man's aura, backing into a corner, making sure his tail wasn't visible. He just hoped the others wouldn't say or think or notice, forget it _all_.

Bon stepped forward, "what's going on-" that was when Mephisto busted out of the ceiling, landing right in front of them all dramatically producing several birds' right out of thin air.

"Congratulations esquires!"

"What the- aren't you the principle?" Bon asked, taking a step back.

"Of course, you didn't think I'd let a mid-level demon get in, did you?" he snapped his fingers and cabinets opened, people came out of the roof- even the floor. Rin stared openly- he had never felt them there. How… they'd been there the whole time?!

"Doctor's, treat the wounded," Mephisto said calmly, and the teachers began moving. Yukio immediately came to him, giving him his jacket and checking him over for broken bones. They had a small conversations while Mephisto loudly declared the announcement.

"That's right! The whole study camp itself was the exwire certificate exam!" "What!" "You're kidding me?!" "That was the test?!"

"What happened?" Yukio asked quietly, "they saw your tail- did you use fire?"

"I-I don't know" Rin admitted, making sure Neuhaus wasn't listening into their conversation. Judging by the way Mephisto was smiling that clown was- but other than that, "I got- it was coming at us to strong. I had to tackle the thing- my shirt got ripped in the fight at some point. I don't _think_ I did-"

"If you used your flames they'd be asking more questions, I think we're good." Yukio looked over his shoulder than back to Rin, "The teachers already knew you were half demon- they just don't know the rest."

"S-so it's okay- so long as they don't know _know_." Rin felt as if he'd been taken off a chopping block. He let out a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair.

Yukio was wound up tighter than he'd ever been before, "things aren't going to be easy from now on. There's… not everyone is happy to work with a half demon."

"come on, let's all get you to the infirmary," Mephisto said happily, and the other started walking out of the room- not into the hallway but a rather old fashioned hospital ward. They were looking over his shoulder at him. Mephisto was taking his sword from Shima- but not the one he wanted.

"C-can I go to my room?" Rin asked warily, he felt depleted. He needed Kurikara, "I don't think I can face them just yet."

Yukio looked like he wanted to do nothing but agree. Mephisto had other plans, "you and your team just successfully completed your first mission!" his eyes narrowed and his smile became unhuman, as he tossed the heavy blade at him.

"You should treasure these moments- they build team bonds."

Rin caught the blade and swallowed. He wasn't going to get out of this. He looked at the door with trepidation. Yukio guided him into the other room, where everyone was being looked at by a doctor. Rin stood off to the side, clearly being sidelined for the people who couldn't regenerate. Yukio brought him a spare set of clothes, as well as the training sword and… a second sword holder?

"Pull Kurikara out and hold it in this," Yukio whispered. Rin started, and scrambled for the key. Kurikara- yes that sounded like a good idea. There was a large burro off to one side, Yukio watched to make sure no one else was looking as Rin opened the drawer and took out the sword. The second sword carrier was build much like his own- but it was gray and made of canvas, instead of the red silk his other one was. Rin slid the sword in, and closed it, clutching both swords to his chest, he took a deep breath- making a _major_ effort not to set himself on fire as he was reconnected with his power source. A lot of the small aches and pains he had been feeling faded away- as long as a crummy feeling he'd felt growing in the back of his mind. He'd been sick? _Probably that ghoul stuff._

"Thank you," Rin released his breath, yukio gave him a small smile, "you have no idea how much better this feels."

"You look better to- you were getting pale," Yukio said quietly, "I don't think it's a good idea to stay away from Kurikara for too long."

"Feels like I'm holding a breath," Rin admitted, and then glanced over his shoulder. He'd kept his tail tightly wrapped under Yukio's jacket up till this point- now it was just beneath a sweater. It felt vulnerable without the heavier protection. Rin shuddered at the sudden dark thought of someone cutting it off. He didn't think they would- _but Konekomaru's parents were killed by Satan- Bon's entire temple._ They'd do much worse. Rin felt bile building up in his throat.

"You really don't want to go over there, do you?" Yukio said quietly.

"They're never going to look at me the same," Rin clutched the swords closer to his chest, "what's worse is there going to make me promise that I won't keep any more secrets from them- but I can't. I can't tell them everything- they shouldn't have even known this."

Yukio looked over at the other kids, squeezing his shoulder, not saying anything. There wasn't much else to be said. A nurse came by and told Yukio he was needed elsewhere. Yukio didn't want to go- Rin could see it. It killed him to leave- the coil twisting in worry.

Rin gripped his brother's hand on his shoulder and took a step back, "I'll be fine. Go, just be back soon." Yukio gave him a warry look, but let the nurse guide him out. Rin watched him go, and Yukio kept looking back at him- until there was a wall and a door separating them. Rin held onto his aura as long as he could- following it out into the hospital ward and beyond.

"You've got two now." Rin jumped out of his skin, nearly sending both swords in his hands clattering down to the ground. He caught Kurikara, but the other one dropped. Bon picked it up and handed it back to him, with an apologetic smile, "sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Rin blinked at teen in front of him- and everyone behind him. They weren't standing, rather looking from their chairs, expectantly.

"Something up?" Bon looked worried, "we called your name like twice."

"y-you guys aren't mad at me?" Rin asked warily, taking the heavy sword back slowly from Bon. He couldn't feel Yukio anymore- he'd lost his brother. He was alone with them now- Rin was scared of what they'd say and do. Scared he'd mess this up just like he always did.

He glanced quickly over to the doorway. They'd been told not to leave- stay until the doctors said they could go. Rin was fairly certain he could get out if he really tried. Bon was looking at him though- he could feel the full intensity of the mountain Buddha statue looking down at him, assessing him, "a little" the man admitted quietly, "but you had your reasons, right? Why don't you come sit down- you took some heavy blows today- you didn't look so well either."

"… that's cool" Rin followed him back to the group, everyone was still giving him funny looks as pulled over a chair to sit down in, "so, a surprise test" he tried to regain some of his positivity, resting both swords in his lap, "they sure fooled us."

"We should've guessed" Shima sighed depressingly.

"I wonder if I passed," Konekomaru said nervously, "well it's too late to worry about that now," bon crossed his arms with a huff. The smaller monk didn't stop worrying though, gripping the sides of his head, "Bon and Shima will be fine, but I could barely even stand up!"

"You guys will be fine," Izumi joined in the conversation, "Mr. Okumaru told us to work together. 'An esquire needs to _cooperate_.'" She looked down at her lap, "which means I totally failed."

"Tch, better than some," Rin clutched his swords closer to him as the mountain winds kicked up, "those guys didn't do anything. What do you have to say for yourselves?!" the monk threw over his shoulder to the only classmates not gathered around Shiemi's bed.

"Yes I got the Lepidosaur's claw!" the hooded snake guy declared, "upgrade! Upgrade!"

The pink rabbit puppet turned on them, "tch! Shut up you punks! We don't have anything to say to you!"

"We as in the two of you, or we as in you and your puppet?" Rin genuinely asked and the puppet snapped at him next.

"Does it matter?!"

"No, I guess not, does it?" Rin scratched his head in confusion. If the puppet was the master- but the body was holding the puppet. Which one was in charge truly? Shiemi, who had fallen asleep earlier stirred, sitting up in the bed and rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Rin apologized.

"No, it's alright," the blonde replied sleepily, "what's everyone talking about?"

"The exam!" Shima smiled at her. "You outdid us all," Konekomaru admitted. Bon bowed in his chair, "I hate to think what would have happened without you. Seriously, thanks."

"Huh? No! Not at all!" Shiemi flustered, turning red.

"Moriama you definitely passed!" Shima cut in, and Izumo crossed her arms, "If she doesn't we all failed." Shiemi became even more flushed, and everyone chuckled quietly, falling silent again.

Rin could tell they were looking at him out of the corner of their eyes. Shima broke the silence at last.

"So… are you half demon or full demon?"

"Me?" Rin stiffened and clutched the blades closer to his stomach, "I'm- I'm half." Yukio had said it was cool so long as they didn't know he was Satan's son, right? Rin wished his brother was here. Rin wasn't a good liar or talker, not that Yukio was any better- but still.

"And your brother?" Konekomaru asked, "Aren't you twins?"

"Fraternal," Rin supplied, recalling Father Fujimoto's words "he's full human."

"That's too bad-" Shima smiled, "man, I wish I could have super strength like that! It was so cool how you just body checked that thing into the wall like it was nothing!"

"Excuse me?" Rin asked in confusion- how was- he was cool now?

"Yeah, you really had my back there- I thought I was going to die for sure." Bon was actually smiling, "I nearly stopped chanting when you jumped in like that- you doing okay by the way? The doctors didn't seem all that concerned even though you were beaten pretty bad" bon paused, looking up "though I guess some demons do have regenerative-"

"He's not a demon," Shiemi's declaration was loud and bright, making everyone look at her. Rin blinked as she turned to him- looking genuinely two second away from standing up and beating the shit out of him and everyone else. _Where is this coming from?_

"That's what you told me when we met right?" She asked, daring him to deny it, "that you're not a demon."

Rin recalled the broken ward on her garden and blinked. He'd said such a thing… _yes I did. Very adamantly too._ Rin looked down at the swords in his lap and looked back up at the others, "definitely not." Everyone seemed to relax a bit at that. Rin wasn't finished though, he might not be able to tell them everything, but he wanted to clear the air.

"I'm sorry I wasn't truthful with you guys," Rin said, "see- I haven't been one my whole life. My demonic half was sealed away in this sword- and I'm still figuring out how to control it all. When the order found me," Rin recalled the rainy funeral with a lump in his throat, "well they said they'd give me a chance. They didn't want us telling anyone though."

"Well that's perfectly reasonable," Konekomaru spoke up and then hesitated before continuing, "I heard that last time there was a half-demonic student there was a pretty bad accident."

"Half-demons aren't all that uncommon really," Kamiki said, and Rin felt reassured.

"Thanks for trusting me guys," Rin said warily.

"Well you did take a ghoul head on for us," Shima laughed, "we would have been goners if it weren't for you."

"I had help," Rin pointed out, and fiddled with his swords nervously, "so… we're all cool?"

Everyone seemed to exchange heavy looks, then Shima shrugged, "sure." "o-of course!" Shiemi stuttered, Izumi muttered something under her breath and the other two monks gave him reassuring smiles.

"Just don't keep anymore secrets from us, okay?" Bon crossed his arms, "communication's important."

Rin bowed his head, looking down at the swords in his lap, "I'll… try. I guess."

"Eh, what's that supposed to mean?" Bon asked, brewing up a storm.

"I-I just can't tell you _everything_." Rin stressed, holding up both his hands, "It's complicated, and… well, like I said the exorcists didn't want me telling you guys this stuff. I'm probably going to get in big trouble as it is…" Rin sighed, but sat up when he felt Yukio's aura come back into range. He wasn't as wound up as he had been before, a good sign. Rin smiled

Bon noticed his frown, "What's up?"

Rin's focus was taken away from his brother and Rin stood up, adjusting his swords.

"Sorry, Yukio's coming,"

"Eh? Seriously?" Bon asked, watching him walk around the beds.

Rin was halfway to the door before his brother opened them.

"It went well? What did they need?" Rin asked quietly, examining his brother. He was uninjured, and no one was in the hallway.

"I guess, and… later," Yukio said quietly, shoulder relaxing, "you?"

"Good, I guess," Rin said, tugging on the straps for his swords.

Yukio nodded, and donned a fake smile as he approached the group, "how are you all feeling?"

The others replied they were fine, hesitantly.

"That's good to hear, all of you guys are clear to go. Drink lots of water these next few days, you'll feel tired but that's normal. If any of you guys develop a fever let me or one of the faculty know so we can treat you further." Yukio spoke like a drone, Rin sweat dropped. He really needed to work on being less robotic. "We'll head back to the dorm now so you guys can rest up" Yukio said producing a key.

Everyone started standing up and shuffling chairs around. The IVs were taken out of everyone's arms and they collected all of their school supplies. It was awkward to have two different blades slung over his shoulder, but he made it work. The power was back on when they stepped through the doorway Yukio had made at least.

"I say we order something for dinner!" Shima called, leading everyone out of the room, several people agreeing with him. They hadn't eaten after all.

"You doing okay? Honestly." Yukio said quietly as the two of them started walking up the front stairs, trailing behind everyone else.

"I'm tired," Rin admitted, "I think I'll sleep for a few days then be at full health. Though I will eat first."

"You're never had to regenerate this much before," Yukio observed, "I guess that would wear you out, but I wonder if it has to do something with you not having your blade."

"I've never had to regenerate without Kurikara," Rin admitted quietly, "it really is like… I have to charge myself. There's only so much power I can carry around." Rin explained, Yukio nodded.

"I'm sorry if I made you worry earlier-" Rin said hesitantly, "when you left,"

"No. Rin, you have all the right reasons to be worried," Yukio stopped him from following the others into the cafeteria, where they were all planning on what to order for dinner.

Yukio was giving him his serious look, Rin nodded to show he was listening and turned to face Yukio. His brother continued, "The last half-demon that openly enrolled in the cram school…" Yukio's grip on his arm tightened slightly, "they were attacked by fellow students."

"Really?" Rin frowned, and Yukio nodded, letting go of his arm to adjust his glasses.

"They lived and the student was expelled but- it's not uncommon. Half-demon's aren't exactly favored within the Order."

"Like how I'm going to be executed if I don't meet their standards?" Rin asked quietly.

Yukio didn't deny it, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "let's just say- we didn't tell you that it was okay they knew you were half demon for a reason. More people might target you now."

Rin looked into the cafeteria and then back at his brother, "I don't think any of these guys are planning to do any harm to me right now," Rin admitted, "I would feel it if they did."

"You sure?" Yukio looked somewhere between relieved and not convinced.

"I knew you would have shot me," Rin said quietly and Yukio took a step away from him.

Rin looked down at the ground, "I could feel your anger- your intent then. You were really mad at me. I don't feel anything like that from them." Yukio looked down at the ground shamefully. Rin adjusted the sword straps on his back and took a deep breath, "and I don't blame you. You were right- I did say something to Father that night." Rin confessed, "I was responsible for… everything. I just want… to try and make up for it. You know?"

Yukio nodded once then again more confidently, looking back up at him, "I know. I see that now."

"Hey, we've decided on American pizza, you guys want to help us pay?" Shima leaned in from the doorway, "oh, sorry was I interrupting something super serious?"

"Just planning on taking over the world," Rin joked, "I don't have a lot of money, how much is it?" he asked.

"I'll pay for you Nii-san," Yukio offered, surprising Rin. Yukio never splurged on food with him before. An olive branch perhaps?

"What kinds are we ordering?" They walked into the eating area and hung out with everyone. It almost felt as if they weren't demon hunting teenagers, everyone talking about small things like manga or games they liked to play. Yukio even managed to relax a bit, talking with Izumi about some of the girly books he liked to read.

They all went to bed and the next morning the dorm was quiet again. A rather depressing change from what it had been.

Still, Rin had hopes for the future. None of the others seemed to initially hold his half-demonic nature against him, and he figured it was easier now this way. He didn't have to explain things away when he did unusual feats of strength or something strange happened around him. By keeping Kurikara locked away he didn't flare up as much, and through trial and error built up his walls so that he could weather Bon's storms or the occasional explosion from Kamiki.

Rin had good hopes for the future, and he smiled as he followed Yukio on some mission the next week out to one of the town's bridges. He'd be the best damned exorcist in the world, and nothing was going to stop him from reaching that goal.

 **AN: Long time no see AN fandom. We're getting a second season last I heard so YAY! time to get some stuff out there.**

 **I actually have had this one on the back burner for a while, but I like to let my fics sit for a while so I can come back to them and read them with fresh eyes and make sure they are still interesting. I know this one's ending is rushed but I don't have a good record with longer stories and am not going to review the entire manga from book 2 on wards- it was the best stopping point I could find. Since nehause doesn't have confirmation Rin's Satan's son and won't attack him... and yeah.**

 **The idea for this actually came as I finally became the owner of the first half of the series. (** as in i bought books. I do not own the series. Kato can keep it perfect as it is **) Anyway I noticed that at some times Rin seems to be very in tune to people's emotions, and I wondered if there was a bit more to it then just him being a good friend since he's certainly not astute. Of coarse this doesn't exactly follow cannon, but the story just kind of deviated on it's own. I right might more stories from within this universe, I might not. We'll see. (probably not)**

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**


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